Going the Wrong Kind of Viral: Q&A with Andrea Askowitz
Author, editor, and podcaster Andrea Askowitz (@andreaaskowitz) discusses what she learned from going the wrong kind of viral, the power of vulnerable truth in writing, and whether she would rather be famous for her writing or good at it, if she had to choose one or the other. Askowitz is the author of the memoir My Miserable, Lonely, […]
Meet Andrea
We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Andrea Askowitz. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Andrea below. Andrea, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you. The most meaningful […]
I Longed For My Dad’s Attention When I Was A Kid. Now I Have It — But I Never Thought It’d Be Like This. (in HuffPost)
We have an ongoing competition in my family. My brother, Tony, and I are adults now — I’m 57, he’s 59 — and my parents have been divorced 25 years, but since we were kids and still today, whenever we get together and one of us says something funny, that person calls for a vote. […]
Democrats are wrong about Maduro ouster. Just ask a Venezuelan (in USA Today)
Eighteen years ago, Vicky answered my ad on Match.com. We sat across from each other at a café in Miami. When Vicky told me she grew up in Venezuela, I had trouble placing the country on the map in my mind. I knew it was in South America, but that was the end of my knowledge […]
My Dog Killed a Cat (In Huffington Post)
My town is better known for its Royal Poinciana trees and Spanish architecture than for homicide. But then our dog, Zeus, a 75-pound husky, rushed out of our garage and breached the fence. He ran straight to our neighbor Gus’ house — well, Gus and his cats’ house — where six or seven cats spent […]
My Wife Gives Horrible Gifts (in Newsweek)
Before we were married, my wife, Vicky, gave me a water bottle inscribed with the logo of the financial firm where she works. She knows I love water bottles, but this one weighed a million pounds and didn’t fit in my bike’s water bottle cage. Also, did I mention the logo? I’m not an ingrate, […]
A Numbers Game (in Memoir Land)
Floridian Andrea Askowitz jumps and counts her way through her anxiety over climate change, and this Atlantic hurricane season. I pull out my jump rope and start slow with a double jump, just high enough for the rope to pass under my feet. Swing, jump, jump one. Swing, jump, jump two. Swing, jump, jump three. At 100, I […]
I Challenged Myself to Stop Talking About Myself (in shondaland)
When her relationship hit a snag, a writer accidentally discovered the secret to a long-lasting, sex-filled partnership. As my wife, Vicky, turned off the lights to go to bed, she asked me about my college dorm. We had just dropped off our daughter at college for the first time. The question got me reminiscing about […]
Resolve to Fail More 2024
Last Friday night, I was washing dishes when I said, “Yay, it’s the weekend.” “Isn’t every day the weekend for you?” My 14-year-old son, Sebastian, said. I was like, “Listen Buster, first of all, I wake up at 6:25 to get you to school. I know you think I crawl back to bed, but I […]
You Should Try Making an Anti-Gratitude List. Really. (in Slate)
Being thankful is all the rage. It doesn’t always help! The Bible mentions gratitude 157 times. The New Testament says “Give thanks in all circumstances.” In modern times, Oprah Winfrey calls the gratitude journal life-changing. You’ve heard it. Scientists say gratitude helps the brain. In the beginning, in the mid-’90s, while playing softball and working to save the world, […]